Smith said in a statement this morning: “The evidence tells us that our frozen burger supplier, Silvercrest, used meat in our products that did not come from the list of approved suppliers we gave them. Nor was the meat from the UK or Ireland, despite our instruction that only beef from the UK and Ireland should be used in our frozen beef burgers.”

‘Breach of trust too great’

Tesco said it had dropped Silvercrest as a supplier because “the breach of trust is simply too great”.

The retailer also pledged to introduce a DNA testing system to ensure the quality of its meat products.

Smith said Tesco had “a well-equipped, expert technical team and world-class checks in place”. But he promised Tesco would “not take anything for granted” after this incident. “Ultimately, Tesco is responsible for the food we sell, so it is not enough just to stop using the supplier,” he said.

Meanwhile, ABP Food Group, owner of Silvercrest Foods, repeated its apology and pledged to become “an industry leader”
in the DNA testing of meat.

Tesco booked full-page adverts in national newspapers on January 16 to issue an “unreserved apology”
for selling beef burgers contaminated with horse DNA.